Tags

44 Comments

I use a mixed bag of suites depending on when and where I am access the files.
At work, I am limited to the Microsoft Office suite they provide. Outlook is the one product I use the most, followed by Excel.
I use a log of Google products because when I am at work, the longest period I am sitting in front of the computer, if I am doing anything for myself personally I use it via the browser as opposed to downloading, emailing and using anything locally.
I also like that the Google Docs are not extremely complicated and works pretty smoothly compared to Microsoft Office online.
When I am at home, unless I need the added power of LibreOffice or a local Microsoft Office, it is just as easy for me to continue what I started in Google Docs. Additionally, if I have to access it from work to update or tweak it I don't have to worry about getting access to it again.
If LibreOffice or OpenOffice were to produce a fully-functional web-based interface that can be run in an ownCloud setup then that would be an awesome alternative to the Google/Microsoft duopoly.

Great survey topic! ProjectLibre ( http://www.projectlibre.org ) is an open source replacement of Microsoft Project (part of the Office family) We are very impressed with the progress at both LibreOffice and OpenOffice! The future is bright and the international adoption is really impressive....

You must vote to see the current answers to an open poll. We typically run polls for four weeks. Once they are closed, we show the results. You do not need to be a registered user or logged in to vote. But if you are logged in, you'll earn points for voting.
Jason

I have used OpenOffice for a number of years prior to Apache taking over development of the software. I've always been a fan of the software, and feel strongly that Apache is heading in the right direction. There are certainly times when I may be away from (my) computer and need to work temporarily on another, and in those instances, it's generally Microsoft Office that's installed, so I'll use it. As far as email goes, Mozilla Thunderbird has been my email client of choice for years now, and integrates nicely with both my google accounts, and email addresses provided by my domain/hosting provider.

I use LibreOffice + Thunderbird + Planner (Ubuntu) as the default tool set. Increasingly we're seeing clients asking for integration with Google Docs. I have a bad feeling about this. We're coming out of a couple of decades of proprietary client>server "standards" and are just about to repeat the debacle with a new set of proprietary browser>server ones. When are we going to learn that the new shiny things at the bottom of the xmas tree are not necessarily where the best gifts are?

I'm like Drew (1st comment), I use a mix of applications from Microsoft, LibreOffice and Google Apps.
Microsoft because of work, LibreOffice at home. When mobile, I fall back on Google Apps, or in case I need to share docs which is easy and simple when on Google Docs.

Have known & used OpenOffice for years. Learned about LibreOffice because of Ubuntu.
I like both AOO & LO a lot.
Google Docs + Drive is great. I feel sad Google doesn't integrate LO with Google Docs. This way (Integration) people will get so many more features & off-line benefits.

MikeF are you talking about: OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocs version 3.0.0 ?
I find that this extension has stopped working for several months. Besides I think it requires Java which caused LO to slow down a lot.
This extension was so useful I used to use it practically everyday. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on my comps anymore.
In addition, I feel Google should promote LO as its off-line counterpart of Google Docs which will give Google feature parity + complete off-line capability. This will help LO as well because of the big endorsement of Google.

Yes, you're right. Just tried it and it's not working anymore. I haven't used it in a while, so I was just assuming it still worked. Lesson learned!
Another option would be to use either InSync or google-drive-ocamlfuse to set up a direct filesystem connection with your Google Drive account. I use google-drive-ocamlfuse, and it lets you use Google Drive as if it were a hard drive. Load and save directly to it from LO. Pretty seemless.

@Simon Wow, that would be great & ergonomic too. Will save numerous clicks multiple times + saves the bother of going through a browser. Saves time, Carpal Tunnel syndrome & headaches.
Now I am eagerly looking forward to LO 4.2! :)
Also happy about Google's support for OpenDocument Format (.odt) in Google Drive.

That’s true Drew, this is a good move by MS.
Even in Google Drive, one can download a new document in ODF but I could not get Google viewer to read ODF documents, for which the ZOHO app was needed. I think Google Drive should support ODF more actively.
I feel Governments worldwide as well as educational institutions must insist on ODF. Otherwise, I think other office suites will forever be chasing format compatibility that one company sets like a monopoly. These formatting anomalies (whether accidental or deliberate) that I believe needlessly crop up when different office suites are used should be prevented by legislation, where ODF should be the standard.

preferrably I use a mix of AbiWord, Gnumeric, Claws Mail and !mpressive and Leafpad. at the office we only use Redmondware, but I try to persuade my colleagues to try the nifty features of Impressive only with a pdf...

I use OpenOffice mainly because I have Ubuntu 10.10 on my desktop. I quit upgrading at that point since I despise Unity, and reloading all of my files and programs from scratch after upgrading to Mint would be a laborious process taking several hours. On my laptop I have Linux Mint with LibreOffice. I seem to be able to transfer Impress slide shows from OpenOffice to LibreOffice without difficulties. I use Microsoft Office only when I am forced to; the ribbon is an aggravating mess, and I have had documents utterly destroyed by Word when I tried to link documents together.

MS Office at work due to obvious reasons.
LibreOffice and iWork at home.
I don't like MS Office neither LibreOffice interfaces, both are too poor in terms of usability. First is too complicated and second is like Office some years ago, iWork is a bit better, at least is simple.

I have used Microsoft's office suite for years.....and I got floored by OpenOffice, (before it was taken by Apache.....when it was still called "StarOffice"!) But Ive been using LibreOffice since it's inception and I love it, it's fast on my fast laptop...it does what I want it to...when I want it to..and it doesn't have half the footprint size of MS Office, not to mention I run it on a Linux machine at home...and when I'm at work I use MS Office, because that's what is being used by the company.

No mention of gnome or kde suites? Me, I use gnumeric, gimp, inkscape and, very occasionally abiword (nearly never) when I need it. OpenOffice and LibreOffice are too much like the bloatware from Micro$oft for my needs.

Hi,
This poll is still open, you would need to register/login and vote to see the current results. Results should also show as soon as the poll is closed, which should be anytime soon. And if this is not the case, we are also looking into other options sharing the results. So if you are interested, stay tuned.

I also use Microsoft Office+Google Docs+Easy Projects (I use project management software that works on Gannt charts, it helps me keep my business on track), such a mixture of tools.
If you ever need some of those, check out http://www.easyprojects.net/gantt-chart-software/

The poll is now closed and the results are visible to everyone. Thank you to everyone who voted! This was a very successful poll.

Vote up!

4

Vote down!

0

Opensource.com is a place where we share stories about how people worldwide are discovering an open source world. See how the principles of open source software and the open source way are being applied to different disciplines including business, education, government, health, law, and life. Follow us on Twitter @opensourceway.

Main menu

The opinions expressed on this website are those of each author, not of the author's employer or of Red Hat.

Opensource.com aspires to publish all content under a Creative Commons license but may not be able to do so in all cases. You are responsible for ensuring that you have the necessary permission to reuse any work on this site. Red Hat and the Shadowman logo are trademarks of Red Hat, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries.